Arthur Dell Orto, a SAR professor and director of rehabilitation counseling, recently received the Distinguished Career in Rehabilitation Education Award from the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE). Dell Orto, who has taught at Sargent College for 34 years and also is associate executive director of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, has authored or coauthored 11 books, many on the psychosocial effects of illness and disability on the family. He was honored at the Fifth Annual NCRE National Rehabilitation Educators Conference in Tucson, Ariz., last month.

Memorial service for Molly Shattuck and Andrew Voluck

Friends, teachers, and the families of Molly Shattuck (CGS’06) and Andrew Voluck (CGS’05), who were struck and killed by an MBTA train behind Case Gymnasium on February 9, will gather to celebrate and remember their lives at 4 p.m., Monday, March 21, at Marsh Chapel. Shattuck, a first-year student from Ipswich, Mass., had turned 19 in January, and Voluck, a second year-student from Blue Bell, Pa., was 20.

SED grad recognized for outstanding dissertation

Molly Collins (SED’94,’04), who earned a master’s degree in early childhood education and a doctorate in curriculum and teaching at the School of Education, won the International Reading Association’s (IRA) 2005 Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award for penning “ESL Preschoolers’ English Vocabulary Acquisition from Storybook Reading.” Now an associate professor of child development at Chicago’s Erikson Institute, Collins will receive the $1,000 award at next month’s annual convention of the IRA, a professional organization for those involved in teaching reading, in San Antonio, Tex.

BU and U.S. Bank offer affinity credit cards

Boston University and U.S. Bank have agreed to a seven-year contract to offer new affinity credit cards aimed at BU alumni, faculty, parents, and friends. The BU-themed cards, which reward users with points, low rates, and other perks, also generate donations to BU each time a new card is activated and again each time the card is used. Visa credit cards offered through the partnership include one that earns reward points redeemable for gift certificates, merchandise, cash, and travel rewards. The new program replaces an affinity card program offered by BU and partner MBNA that ended December 31. To learn more about the cards, visit www.bu.edu/alumni.

State department rep to address international students

Janice Jacobs, deputy assistant secretary for visa services at the U.S. Department of State, will discuss the visa application process for studying in the United States and other matters of interest to international students at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 25, at the George Sherman Union Conference Room. Jacobs is expected also to discuss recent improvements made by the U.S. government in approving security clearances for entering the country. Her presentation, which is open to all members of the BU community, will be followed by a question and answer period.